


One Last Stop

by Beni_O2 (Benihime_O2)



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Gen, High School, Light Angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-10
Updated: 2020-08-15
Packaged: 2021-03-06 03:00:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 11,089
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25826317
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Benihime_O2/pseuds/Beni_O2
Summary: Everybody has to grow up. Among the big changes in life, it's the little things that make you realize how much your world won't be the same.
Comments: 10
Kudos: 23
Collections: Yu-Gi-Oh! Big Bang 2020





	1. Chapter 1

Tristan had never been a coward. Not before, not ever, yet he felt his courage fading him as he circled around the shop’s entrance. Oh sure, it _looked_ just like an ordinary card shop, oh sure, but it was so much more than that. It was a pastel-colored, floral-scented shop of doom, if not to the other customers in the store then it was to him.

Standing outside the shop, his legs felt jittery, as if fueled by the desire to leave and put such evil behind him. The thought of returning home empty-handed, however, was just too terrifying. Finally, reluctantly, Tristan moved forward, pushing the door open as if fearing an attack.

No siren blared as he entered the store, but the little chiming bell marking his entrance still seemed far too loud. There was no way that everyone in the store wouldn’t stop and stare at his trespass, yet as he cautiously made his way, inside no one seemed to notice.

He supposed that it wasn’t too surprising. It was the weekend before Mother’s Day, and everyone else in the store seemed too focused on getting their own cards to pay much attention to him. A cursory sweep of the store told him that none of his classmates were there. The shop was fairly full, the different aisles full of endlessly cheery, alarmingly occasion-specific cards. There were mostly women, with the occasional guy shuffling around as if they were not sure if they were supposed to be there. Tristan could relate.

A few younger kids hovered around the display cases full of porcelain figurines, with their giant painted eyes and nauseatingly cute poses. One of the store workers kept an eye on them from her position at the register. From the look on her face, he didn’t want to be around when one of the clumsy kids actually knocked something over.

In fact, he was the only teenager there. He wasn’t sure if that made him feel better or worse.

Probably worse.

If Joey was there they would be able to snicker at the overly cheesy cards, though ultimately he wouldn’t be very helpful. Yugi and Téa would roll their eyes, but would probably help him pick something suitable. But nope, they were all busy and he was on his own. Left alone to his doom because he felt that he had been saddled with an impossible task to which there could be no salvation.

For he was there to purchase a Mother’s Day card, but no, not for his mother.

He already bought one for her ages ago, and quick grab-and-go that left him spiritually and emotionally intact.

No, he was not buying a Mother’s Day card for his mom, not on that day.

Instead…

He was buying a card…

A _Mother’s_ _Day_ card…

For his sister.

Who was, as terrible as it was to admit, _**a mother.**_

Just thinking that thought made his stomach clench.

Tristan had never thought that he would have a midlife (well, late-teenaged) crisis in the middle of the greeting card store, but what did he know. There he was, surrounded by a sea of greeting cards in assorted shades of light pink and purple, with splashes of other pastels weaving their way through the displays. All of the cards were different, surely, but the spindly fonts and looping letters seemed to swarm together, like a lacework prison of prepackaged emotion.

A prison only for Tristan, since no one else in the store seemed to be having the same crisis as him. Even the other guys kept shuffling around, which was kind of like progress. Instead, his feet felt glued to where he was standing.

Left and right, people were pulling cards off of the shelves, briefly peering into them before making up their mind which to pick. They could, with a glance, determine which cheery message and floral design best conveyed the message of the holiday that was causing Tristan so much distress, so much anguish for such little returns.

It wasn’t that the holiday was so bad. He was fine with the idea of Mother’s Day, it was great. One day out of the year that he was obligated to stay home and spend time with his mom, he could totally handle it. Back in the golden days of his wayward youth, all he had to do was find a card, sign his name, and he was done for another year.

But it was different this time, because he was being forced to shop for his sister.

His sister.

His big sister.

A mom.

_His sister was somebody’s **mom**._

The words felt sticky and unpleasant in his mind, like that combination of words weren’t meant to belong with each other. Like there was something fundamentally wrong with the universe if those words were put together. Still feeling awkward, he moved towards one of the aisles. It wasn’t easy, with all of the moving bodies around him, other people still focused on their hunt for the perfect card. Their determined looks only made him feel more out of place.

Out of place, but still on a mission.

And yeah, he knew that she was a mom. He’d known that for a while. He was there when she had first brought her then-boyfriend over to the family home. Tristan had moved around the older man awkwardly, not wanting to engage with their guest any more than he had to.

It was like he was more of an intruder than guest. In the guy’s defense, he looked more than a bit embarrassed to be there, wholly aware of how out of place he was in such a noisy household, his girlfriend talking a mile a minute to her parents as he just nodded along when appropriate.

Tristan had been at the wedding too. He had hated being forced into a too stiff suit just so he could hear his mom wailing about her sweet, innocent baby girl growing up so fast.

He could do math too, and knew that his ugly baby nephew was born a couple of months too early to have been born _after_ the wedding. He also knew better than to bring that up though because _duh_. He wanted to live until at least graduation, and that was still another year away.

But there was a difference between ‘ _knowing_ ’ that his sister was a mom, and ‘ ** _acknowledging_** ’ the awful truth that she really was a mom.

He moved further along the aisle, gently trying to avoid bumping into anyone or getting whacked by any of the enormous shopping bags that so many people were carrying. He wondered if he actually got knocked out by one of the bags, his mom would let him off the hook. Probably not.

‘ _A high school_ _boy_ _can buy presents for his own sister’_ his mom had told him that morning, ignoring his pleas and whines as he tried to weasel out of it. A gift and a card had been his task to get.

The first had been easy enough. He had skimmed the window display of a store selling accessories and had picked out a scarf that seemed both nice enough and a color that she seemed to liked. She liked a peachy-orange, right? He remembered her going on and on about a coat of that same color that her husband had gotten for her last Christmas. Assuming that she didn’t just say that because she loved _everything_ and _anything_ that he got for her. Love really made people dumb.

But then it was time to get a card, and then it got tough.

There was just something about committing to a card that was supposed to express his ‘feelings’ to his sister that he just couldn’t seem to get over. Not that he was big on feelings, but his mom was. If he tried to preserve his dignity and get a plain card that lacked any mushiness or embarrassing emotion, she would just send him back to the store to find one more suitable to her tastes. If he took the easy way out and just got her the fluffiest, mushiest card, his sister would just toss the card back at him and laugh in his face. Her ugly kid would probably join in too, with her husband looking at him with his usual apologetic eyes.

Either way, he was going to suffer unless he could find just the right card.

[ _The horrible_ _thought_ _that he would have to find another ‘perfect’ card the next year, and the year after that, thankfully never occurred to him. Ignorance was truly bliss._ ]

But still, his sister? A mother? A mom?

It was just hard to think of her as someone else, as anyone but his big sister.

She was the girl who had gleefully pushed him around on the playground in one breath, yet dragged another boy’s face in the dirt for breaking one of Tristan’s toys in another.

She was the girl who had told him scary stories at night to make sure that he wouldn’t be able to sleep, but had also let him crawl into bed with her when he was too embarrassed to make it to their parents’ room.

She was bossy. A pain in the ass. A brat. Selfish. Loud. Annoying. Truly awful.

She was his big sister. She was his mom and dad’s kid, the firstborn.

She had always been there in his life, had always already of gone through the trials that he stumbled through growing up, setting an example that he could never quite match but could learn from.

But she wasn’t just the girl who was all of those things. She was a woman who was all of those things and more.

She was also somebody’s wife. They had their own home. He had only been there a few times a year, since normally she and her husband came over to their parents home. He preferred that. He would rather have her husband feel like an intruder in his family’s home than to go over to theirs and feel like one himself.

She was somebody’s _mom._ Her kid, as ugly as he was, centered his whole world around her. What their mom was to them, his sister was to her brat. He was getting older now, still ugly, but once he was less puffy and wrinkly, he kind of looked like her. A little piece of her, growing and depending on her.

Kind of like how Tristan used to be.

He rolled his shoulders at the thought, like he was trying to get rid of a cramp. It didn’t sit well with him, for some reason. Like he was being replaced, even though that was beyond ridiculous. He could see Téa laughing at him, bringing up all of the times that he complained about his sister embarrassing him or ordering him around.

But he didn’t know how else to feel, and if he couldn’t even figure that out, how was he supposed to pick a stupid card and be done with it? He didn’t think that he would find a card that said ‘ _Congrats on having a stupid kid_ ’. He could buy a blank card and write that in, but as sincere as that message was, he did value living long enough to actually graduate. Maybe even beyond then, if he was lucky.

He reached out, fingers clammy, picking up cards at random. He flipped them open, skimming quickly before putting them back. None of them seemed to have to right message. They were all too flowery or lovey-dovey. Most were for spouses or kids, the target demographic/victims of the holiday. There didn’t seem to be a dedicated section for put-upon little brothers just trying to get an obligation done.

And it wasn’t that it was so hard. It was just, why congratulate her for moving on in life? Was there a card that read ‘ _Bullies can be moms too, congrats_ ’. But he had never seen her be anything but loving to her ugly kid, and her husband doted on the both of them. It was sickening, really. He wasn’t jealous at all.

He put back another card, only to groan when he realized that the glitter had rubbed off on his fingertips. He would be cursed with glitter until he could scrub his hands properly, preferably with bleach. For a moment he thought that he would get mad, but he ended up smirking instead in spite of himself. It was like the glitter was calling him out on his lie.

Okay, maybe he was a little jealous. It would just take some time getting used to, the idea that she was this whole other person outside of him and that they would only get more distant once he graduated and eventually moved out of their parents’ home. He was getting ready to start a new life and she was already way ahead of him, moving on without looking back.

But she loved him. In her own bossy way. And he loved her too.

A card caught his eye. It didn’t have any flowers, for one, and thankfully there wasn’t any glitter either. There was a lighthouse instead, along with a happy looking seagull. Anything that wasn’t damn flowers seemed worth a look. He had to move around a couple of other customers who seemed more interested in talking than actually perusing the cards. He grabbed it and flipped it open, ready to put it back on the shelf like the rest.

‘ _For all you are and all you do, I just want to say...I love you.’_

Not the prettiest card, but it was one with a message that he guessed that he could get behind.

“For all that you do, sis.” He whispered to himself.

Yeah, that card would do.

* * *

You can find the card [here](https://www.greetingcarduniverse.com/holiday-cards/mothers-day-cards/for-sister/mothers-day-sis-lighthouse-seagull-1074706)!


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Joey and Serenity talk, and some things get left unsaid.

Joey threw his bag on the floor before throwing himself on the bed. It was a hot, humid day, and it was a relief to finally get out of the sun. He might have loved summer vacation but sometimes the heat was too much, even for him. His fan was his only solace, but it was a poor comfort, moving the air around the room but doing little to cool it down.

His fingers reached up to his collar, fanning himself. He was starting to feel pretty gross, he shouldn’t have run around so much, but a shower would have to wait. A grin stretched across his face, and he rolled over, leaning over the side of the bed to dig his phone out of his bag.

It was almost time for his weekly call with Serenity.

There weren’t many pleasure greater than talking to his little sister. Sure, it was way better to hang out in person, but just talking over the phone would do. Video calling could be fun, but Joey didn’t mind doing it normally, sans screen. Besides, it helped him to not have his sister nagging him about cleaning up his room. She already knew it was messy, he didn’t want to give her video evidence to use against him.

After a few rings, he heard a click.

“Hey big brother!” He could tell that she was smiling. He laid back on his bed, letting himself get comfortable. “Heya sis, what’s up?”  
  
She giggled, and started sharing the details of her day. No matter what kind of day that she had, she always seemed to have a new story to share, usually something funny that one of her classmates did. He’d laugh along at the right times, adding his two cents whenever he thought he could get a rise out of her.

He had long sense began to subconsciously know when a story she was telling was about someone she knew, and when she was actually talking about herself. He wasn’t a stranger to that tactic, he knew that she was smart enough not to incriminate herself, even when it was something mostly harmless.

He couldn’t help it, the big brother in him always wanted to make sure that she was going to be okay. Being a party pooper didn’t bother him that much if it meant that his sister was safe.

“And I remember telling him, ‘ _Listen! You can’t do that!_ ’ and of course he doesn’t listen to me.”

“Well, guys suck you know.”

He knows that she’s sticking her tongue out at him. “Well, that one certainly did at listening. And what does he do?”

“What does he do?”

“He goes off anyways, speeding out of the school parking lot, just trying to show off to everyone-”

‘ _Better not be to show off to my little sister.’_ But Joey doesn’t add that. She’s still building up the story, he doesn’t want to throw off her groove.

“Annnd he makes it to the little street that connects to the main road, and BAM!” She slapped her hands together, and the noise actually makes him wince a bit, pulling the phone away for a moment.  
  


“Jeez, Serenity, my ears, you got to be careful with me.”  
  


“Sorry Joey.”

“I’m almost an old man now, be more delicate-”

She snorted, but then continued on. “And, I kid you not, he T-bones a car. Not even 10 seconds and he’s already crashed his week-old new car.”

Joey winced in solidarity with the poor car. “That’s gotta hurt. Feel a little more sorry for whoever paid for that car, though.”

“But you don’t know the best part!” She was getting excited, probably bouncing around, just waiting to tell her brother the best part.

“You gotta tell me or I’m never going to be able to sleep tonight. C’mon, sis.”

“The car he hit, wait, gotta say this first, nobody got hurt, I wouldn’t laugh about something like _that_.”

“I know, I know, you’re a saint, you return you library books two days in advance every time and help the elderly cross the street, I know.”

She laughed, and he loved to hear the lightness in it. “That’s rich coming from the guy who bragged about being a delinquent but spends his free time playing card games whenever he can. And stay focused, I got to tell you the story!”

And if his past misdeeds could be swept under the rug so easily, it would be easier on his heart. But it wasn’t time to dwell on that.

“THEN TELL ME!”

“The car, he hit-ha, oh my, you won’t ever believe-”

“Not if you never~ finish~”

“IT WAS THE DRIVER’S ED TEACHER!”

“WHAT?”

“AND HE HAD TWO STUDENT DRIVERS WITH HIM! HE T-BONED THE DRIVING INSTRUCTOR DURING SOME KID’S DRIVING TEST! HE’S SUCH AN IDIOT!”

The two of them dissolved into howls laughter after that. Joey had to admit, it was hard to top not only getting into a car accident in front of the entire school, but hitting some poor schmuck taking their driver’s test.

“And nobody got hurt, right? Except for your buddy’s pride?”

He heard the eye-roll that he couldn’t see. “We’re not really friends, he just dated my friend ages ago and still hangs around us sometimes, but yeah, nobody else got hurt. The kid in the test car, the one driving, started crying and then the other kid started crying, and the idiot’s blubbering about his car and the driving instructor’s trying to call the police and tow truck to get things sorted because nobody else is doing anything constructive.”

“And what were the fine, young minds at your high school doing at that time?”

“Taking pictures on their phones, of course. I saw a couple videos of it too, but none of them quite capture the magic of being there.”

“And I wouldn’t suppose that YOU’D have any pictures on your phone? Serenity Wheeler, that’s so disappointing.” He said with mock gravity.

“Shut up Joey, I’m not like that.”

“Just don’t hang out with a guy like that. He’s bad news, and probably even worse for your car insurance.”

“It’s fine Joey. We’re not really _friends_.”

“But he hangs out around you.” He knew that he was pressing the point, but like something stuck in his teeth, he felt the need to keep poking at it.

“I don’t need you picking out my friends for me, I can handle it.” She paused for a moment, as if realizing that her tone was a little too harsh for the situation. “It’s just, you know, we’re just having fun.”

“Crashing into cars? Or crashing into teachers who taught you how to drive said cars?” Joey deadpanned.

“I’m pretty focused on school, don’t worry about that. I’m more worried about how my big brother’s going to graduate in the oh-so-near future.” He guessed that the conversation was going to steer in that direction, even though he would have rather talked more about her day. Just a little bit longer.

“You don’t have to worry-”

“But I do!” Serenity interrupted. “What are you going to do after graduation? Work? University? Dueling?”

“Dueling, yes.” He chimed in. “I’ll always be dueling.”

“But everything else...” She said, with a gentle whine in her voice.

“I’ll figure it out sis, don’t worry.”

He could see her getting all huffy in her room. She was probably pushing some of her stuffed animals around because her big brother was too far away to be a suitable target. “I guess you will. But what about in the meantime? And I mean aside from dueling.”

“I’ve been working.” And he had been all through high school, he didn’t see himself slowing down anytime soon. Some of her friends were hyper focused on final exams, entrance exams, mock exams even! But he wasn’t. Get some solid work, save up, and then maybe throw his hat into the rodeo. He wasn’t in a rush. He told himself that. It wasn’t because he wasn’t ready to figure it out.

And he certainly wasn’t scared.

“Are you going to work with Tristan? Fixing cars and bikes?” A seemingly innocent question, but he did NOT like the little lifting lilt in her voice as she said Tristan’s name. She sounded too disinterested, like she was hiding something.  
  


“Maybe. His dad asked about it.”

“Or with Yugi at the Game Shop?”

He laughed. “I always help out there anyways. Might just move in so I won’t have to worry about a commute.”

“That’s true, that’s true.” His sister said, as if after further review it was a decent choice.

“What about your other friend? With the big company-”

“I ain’t working for moneybags anytime in this lifetime, thank you very much and goodnight!”

But she just laughed at his knee-jerk reaction. “Don’t be silly, that could be good for you.”

“Eating vegetables could be good for me, but I’m not willing to take that risk.”

“Well, it doesn’t matter. As long as you’re happy, it doesn’t matter what you ultimately pick. But you can’t just fuss over me forever.”

It wasn’t a question, but it felt like one. And the answer Joey knew was true in heart probably wasn’t the one that she wanted to hear. “But I’m always going to do that anyways.”

“But I’m not always going to be a little girl. I’ve been growing up fine on my own you know.”

‘ _Without you.’_ She doesn’t say, but he hears those words anyways.

Of course she grew up without him. He knew that. She went from a little kid to a young woman in what seemed like a blink of an eye. He could know that while still telling himself that she was his little sister and would always need him setting her on the right path. He guessed-

He didn’t realize that she had long known that she didn’t need that from him. Or need him to grow. She grew just fine without him.

“Joey?” He snapped back to the present. He had taken too long to answer, and there was a worrying tone in her voice now.

“Oh, nothing. Just glad to hear that my sister’s nearly all grown up.” He faked some sniffles that felt a little too real. “Soon she’s going to be married and having 2.5 kids in a house with 1.5 dogs and 10,000 throw pillows. It’s just a lot to process, that’s all. There won’t be any space for me to sit on the couch.”

She groaned at the mental picture of suburban normalcy that he imagined for her. “The only reason why I’d have so many pillows is so that I could have something soft to throw at your head whenever you said something dumb, which is like, all the time.”

“Do you write your fancy essays that way sis? _‘_ _In this essay, I will like, tell you about photosynthesis that, did you know,_ _ **happens all the time???’**_ _”_

“At least I write my essays!”

“Essays are overrated.”

“Dueling’s overrated!” He faked gasped at her sacrilege.

“Dueling, overrated? I can’t believe my own sister would say such heresy! The next thing I know, you’ll be saying that the Blue Eyes White Dragon is overrated, and Kaiba will fly a helicopter over your house, screaming at you from a megaphone _‘I heard that you were talking shit about my dragon!’_ ”

“Then I’ll just throw a pillow at him and tell him to shut up, he’s bothering the neighbors!”

They both laughed at the mental scene, a defiant Serenity pummeling a hovering helicopter with pillows, resorting to throwing her stuffed animals to their doom once the pillows ran out. It raised Joey’s spirits, helping him out of the mental funk that he had felt himself sliding into.

All too soon, they said their goodbyes, Serenity to have dinner with their mom, and Joey to actually clean himself up. They would talk again soon, but there was something about the time after the end of each call that seemed to eat at him. There was an inconvenient, nagging thought at the edge of his mind.

The actual words of it came to him as he struggled to focus on his chemistry homework.

She was growing up.

With or without him.

And he had to be okay with that, even though a strong part of him was feeling that _‘no, he was not_ _ **OKAY**_ _about that_ ’. Serenity was his little sister, the one person in life he was supposed to protect. The person who was always supposed to be able to depend on him, always able to trust in him. Always.

Wasn’t it a big brother’s job to lead? Maybe not exactly by example, but to be the one she could learn from, who could set examples for her.

He had to be okay knowing that she was finding things out on her own, making mistakes and learning from them without him ever being the wiser.

He had never heard about the guy she had been talking about, but from the way she spoke, he seemed like someone whose company she enjoyed. He didn’t like the sound of the guy, and he definitely didn’t like knowing that there was nothing that he could do about it. Hell, he didn’t even have a name for the guy! Unless he was ready to throw down with all of the guys at her school, how was he supposed to know who it was?

Sneaky of her, to share a story like that while hiding enough details to keep him from prying into her personal business. That there were so many things about her that he would never know, just because they were so far apart from each other.

He knew about her good qualities, of course he did, but he didn’t know all of the things that would make her laugh happily or snicker a bit more deviously. He didn’t know what kind of pranks she pulled and then played innocent about. He didn’t know what kinds of rules that she broke to have fun, and what secrets she hid from him and their mom that she’d take to the grave rather than tell him.

Sure, he had secrets from her too, but that was different. A big brother hiding unsavory details about his past was just an older sibling trying to set a better example for their younger ones. He could take lead, he could take charge.

But she didn’t need him too. Not really. Not in a way more than just unconditional love and moral support.

She could rely upon him but she didn’t need to. She had people whom he’d never met or heard about who were helping her live out her best life. People she was growing up with, who were helping her build her life, as he sat on the sidelines, yelling support but not being in the game.

He knew that she didn’t need him to grow up, but she didn’t need to know that he needed her just to live.

Forget dueling, being a big brother was what he knew how to be. It was how he lived his life, how he woke up in the morning and defined himself.

Téa was a dancer.

Yugi was a duelist.

Kaiba was a prick.

And Joey was a big brother.

It was a bitter pill to swallow, knowing that his days of being an all-knowing big brother were not only numbered, but nearly gone. It wasn’t a good feeling.

He huffed, rolling himself out of bed before he fell asleep feeling sorry for himself. He could feel sorry for himself in the shower, and at least he’d get clean. And who knew, tomorrow would be another day.

And his all-knowing big brother days weren’t over yet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What kind of idiot hits their old driving instructor's car in front of their high school, hahahaha. *sweats nervously*


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Téa isn't gone yet, but her parents know that that day is coming soon. Sooner than they'd like.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Changes are hard on everyone, but parents have it rough too.

“I’ll see you guys later, okay?” Téa was already half out the door, waving goodbye to her parents as they waved back. She took the steps two at a time, hitching her bag up when it started to slide off of her shoulder.

Time might wait for no man, but summer waits for no student. There was only a week before classes were back in session, and she was trying to get as much time in with her friends as she could. It was almost senior year and she’d be in peak busy-mode. Classes, club activities, dance, work, it was all a lot more than she wanted to think about.

So she wasn’t going to.

She had spent enough time worrying that summer anyways.

She pulled her bike out of the garage, and after making sure that her bag was secure she was off. It was game night, and it was her turn to pick. She had snagged her old Clue set from her closest, well-used but still a classic, and she wanted to have a clear mind if she was going to win. Not that she had to worry about Joey, since his poker face was non-existent, but still: Yugi and Ryou were too sharp for their own good, and she wasn’t aiming to lose.

With a grin, she pedaled away from home, riding over the fallen leaves that were starting to fall in earnest. Summer was almost over, and her final school year was about to begin.

Back inside her home, the absence of her infectious joy was felt. Her parents, who had moments before been warmly seeing their daughter off, fell quiet. They moved around each other, cleaning up after the meal that they had shared as a family not long before. The work was finished a little too quickly, and they were left with their hands feeling restless.

There was nothing that needed cleaning, no laundry to fold, nor any tasks that required attention. Still feeling restless, they moved into the living room. Without any words, they sat together on the couch. Téa’s father’s hand found its way into her mother’s.

The house felt so empty. It was warm and stuffy, almost uncomfortable, but they continued to sit there, letting their eyes soak in their home.

It may not have been a large house, but it was a home. Small but neat looking from the outside, warm and homey within. It was the kind of place that a young couple would have been happy to move in to, to build a home in, to start a family in. To raise a family in.

To raise their daughter.

Their daughter’s smiling face could be seen even though she wasn’t there. Nearly all of the rooms had picture frames hanging on the walls, each commemorating the many accomplishments of their daughter that she had achieved in her short life.

From school photos to pictures taken at her dance recitals, her growth from a baby to a young woman was chronicled. There were also snapshots from the trips she had taken with her family, and even some of her and her friends.

They liked her friends, they were good kids. They didn’t mind that some of the pictures were taken at places that they had never been, detailing events that they never experienced with her.

In all, the story of their daughter’s life was weaved around the house. Their home was much less about them, and so much more about her, their daughter, their only baby.

And she was getting ready to leave them.

They weren’t upset at that, far be it. They were proud. They were so proud! They were proud of her and she knew it. She had to know that. How could she not? She was their everything, and they were her eternal cheerleaders. There was nothing that she couldn’t accomplish if she put her mind to it, and it seemed with every year their daughter just became more amazing and wonderful and everyone could see that.

And everyone could. It was a few years before that they had been approached by their daughter’s dance instructor. The woman had wanted to know if they were interested in enrolling Téa in a summer exchange program. She had wanted to gauge their willingness first before broaching the topic to Téa in order to avoid disappointing her.

Back then, it had seemed so easy to say ‘yes’. Their daughter would only be gone for a couple of weeks, and they talked on the phone every night. When she came back, she was breathless with stories she wanted to tell, about the new instructors and lessons and everything that she wanted to share with them.

But it would be different after graduation. She would be gone not for weeks, but months. A year, to start. Possibly more. Probably more. Larger cities had better schools, and much better opportunities.

They had to give her every boost that they could. She already had the talent, the heart, and the drive to be a star. She just needed a chance to show the world what she could do, to show the world what kind of star she could be. Her parents could already see that, the world just needed to.

And it would. But the cost would be giving their daughter to the world.

Years before, it had been an exciting yet daunting opportunity.

Now, with it not a possibility but an eventuality, the price felt a lot heavier.

But they wouldn’t let their daughter know that. They talked about that already.

Téa was already coming to terms with the idea of being away from her friends. Her relationships would go from being together all of the time to calls and texts, with the rare visit.

She would be interacting with new dancers and instructors, with people whom she would work professionally with for the rest of her life. Of her new life. The one she had worked so hard to reach.

One that they were happy to help her reach, even if it meant she would have to leave them behind as she sought to touch the stars.

They would always be her parents, and they would always love her, and they would have to love her enough to let her go and live her own life.

Some parents longed for an empty nest. Others loathed the idea. For them, their house would always be open to their daughter. It would be a home to her when she was there, and a shrine to all of the things that she could do when she wasn’t.

They were proud, so proud. And a little lonely, even if it was just a normal summer day and graduation was still so many months away. Their hands tightened, holding on to each other as if they could slow time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, Téa barely even shows up in her own chapter! Not fair! Or is it some subconscious thing because I usually write about her a lot?
> 
> Don't worry, she'll appear again later.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They're just things, aren't they? It shouldn't be that hard to leave them behind.

The weak November light filtered into the apartment. The afternoon sun gave everything a warm, orange-hued glow. Ryou moved about his apartment, his footsteps soft as he unconsciously cataloged the items on the many bookshelves that lined the walls.

Even when he stopped to take a better look, he didn’t see much. There are some books, most that he hadn’t touched in years, but overwhelmingly his shelves are filled with an eclectic mix of cheap souvenirs and rare artifacts that he had collected over the years.

Most had been presents, nearly all from his father. It was like the man didn’t have a clue what his son wanted, and chose the presents at random, probably from whatever had caught his eye in a shop or whatever at a dig seemed the least likely to be missed.

It was very like his father, to turn his son’s apartment into his own personal museum. The man couldn’t be bothered to own his own home, just content to travel to world at his own pace, living his own life. Letting his son grow up on his own far, far away.

Ryou’s eyes hardened.

He was going to be happy to leave that empty place behind.

He didn’t have any illusions, life wasn’t going to be easy without his father’s support. University life might be his ticket away from home, but there was more than just tuition to worry about. Books, supplies, housing, food, insurance, the list went on and on. For every thing that he remembered to list there were at least two more things that he hadn’t even thought of yet.

And it wasn’t that he didn’t love his father. Well, he didn’t hate him. He didn’t think that he could. But when all things were said and done, his father wasn’t that much of a father to him.

He was just-

A ghost.

His father was more of a ghost than person. He haunted the edges of Ryou’s life more than his mother or sister ever did.

They might have left him because they died, but his father didn’t have that excuse. He just left.

Ryou didn’t know if it was easy or not for him, but it sure as hell seemed that it was. The occasional phone call, the regular payments for his living expenses, an exotic present every time his birthday came around, it was practically liked clockwork. Like his dad was a well oiled machine, facetiously carrying out its duties as pleasantly and emptily as possible. It was fine. It was fair.

It was suffocating.

It was hard enough having to lose his little sister so early on. She had been his only constant companion, and even as the years had passed she was still the only one whose belief in him had never wavered.

His mother, it was hard losing her too, but she was already partially gone, grief-wrecked at the loss of her daughter. He supposed that he couldn’t blame her, she was only human.

But his dad was still alive, just not anywhere that Ryou was. It seemed like he wanted to be anywhere in the world that Ryou _wasn’t_ and any place that Ryou _was_ was tainted to him.

He wasn’t a good dad or a bad dad. He had seen enough examples of those from his group of friends.

No. He just wasn’t a dad at all.

And that was going to have to be okay.

He surveyed his groups of miniatures set up on some of the higher shelves. He preferred those to be at eye-level, his father’s ‘gifts’ banished to the lower shelves. They had taken hundreds of hours to make, from the planning to the sculpting to the painting and finishing. He had put a little piece of himself into all of them, his passion for creation driving him ever onward.

In the past, he had wondered how he could bear to leave any of them behind. Some day he would have to pack them up, store them somewhere, drag them around everywhere that he went.

He didn’t feel the same anymore. He loved all the ones that he made, but he didn’t need them to follow him everywhere he went. They would be just one more thing holding him back, one more thing that he wasn’t ready to let go.

He wasn’t so heartless as to trash them all, though. He had made them after all, and he’d be a pretty poor creator to just abandon them. He wasn’t like his dad.

He’d give as many away to his friends as he could. He wasn’t sure if they would be too glad about it, and he was already expecting Joey would be too creeped out to accept anything, but he was pretty sure that he could get Yugi to take the bulk of them.

Display them in the Game Shop, sell them, see which one best survived a two story free fall, it didn’t really matter to Ryou. Whatever would make his friends happy, he would be fine with.

He could always make new ones. There were new ones, new characters, new ideas, just waiting to be made. He could make those, and pass them along when he felt the need to. He didn’t need a giant collection to drag around as he tried to move on. He didn’t need them to become emotional anchors weighing him down either.

When he finally graduated, he’d move out. He wouldn’t be the only one. Téa already had her plans to study in New York, and he doubted that the others would just be sitting on their thumbs after graduation. While maybe not quite his friend, he knew that Kaiba would be leaving them far behind once his obligation to school was done. Still, Ryou was certain that his rivalry with Yugi would keep him tethered to the group.

Even when they all separated, they could stay together, all in their own ways. Some would visit, some would send letters, and even at their farthest, everyone would only be a phone call away.

That would be good enough for him. He didn’t need a ghost dad following him around in life.

Real friends would fill that gap much better instead.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is dedicated to the 40% of my stuff that didn't survive my move from Japan. RIP and a big f u to the post office.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The passing of the torch is never easy, nor is waiting for the hand-off.

Winter was a slower season for the Game Shop. Sure, sales surged just before Christmas, but January and February tended to make up for the shopping frenzy by being quiet and sedated. It was fine with Yugi, the shop still did well. It was a good time to reorganize the shop, to get a feel for what products they wanted to promote while regulating others to lower shelves.

Displays had to be tweaked and rearranged, posters updated with the newest releases and events. There were always new tournaments to look forward to, and staring at the dates on the posters helped to make the slow days pass a little faster. He already knew the schedule for all of the Kaiba Corp events, told to him by Seto himself, so he knew that he’d have some time to relax before he had to be out dueling again.

Yugi was busy moving boxes in and out of the sales floor and the back room. He was grateful to his late if modest growth spurt, it made carrying the heavy boxes much easier. He had made a point to take care of the boxes himself or with Joey. He didn’t feel that comfortable having his Grandpa lift up heavy boxes anymore.

It just, it didn’t feel right.

His mom had taken him to yet another one of his doctor’s visits. Yugi guessed that getting older meant having to visit doctors more often. His Grandpa was healthy enough, just older. A little slower. A little, just, different.

He felt himself shiver at the thought. He moved over to the register, and aimlessly played with some of the figurines that flanked it. They were gifts from Ryou, given to him one at a time over the past few months. There were more by the display for role playing games, and were great conversation pieces for customers looking to get into those games.

Nobody seemed to be getting trapped in them anymore, so Yugi counted that as a win.

They were a new addition, just one of the now many new things that Yugi was working on for the shop. His Grandpa had winked at him when he brought up displaying them, telling him that the store was eventually going to be his anyways, so he better get used to making more decisions.

And while he and his mom had laughed at that, inside he was scared.

He didn’t want to think of the shop as his. His Grandpa was already past the age of retirement, and didn’t plan on slowing down anytime soon. The shop would be his until he couldn’t take care of it anymore, and then it would be Yugi’s. Forever. Because his Grandpa would either be dead or so frail that he couldn’t work anymore.

Yugi felt a chill that had nothing to do with the weather outside.

He had spent so many years at the Game Shop, growing up there under his grandpa’s watch. Grandpa and the store were practically one and the same, he couldn’t imagine the place without him.

What kind of place would that be? Would it still be so comforting and warm? Would it be someplace peaceful with the gentle noise of children and their parents, or just empty?

The memories of the time he spent with his friends there was precious. Even when they just came over for a quick chat while checking out any new cards, he held on to those moments in his heart. In the beginning they would all come together after school, but as time went on they were more likely to visit when he was behind the counter instead of his Grandpa. They were busy with clubs or work, and the time that they spent together grew less and less.

But they were just getting ready to move on with their lives. He would always have a chance to see them again. That was a luxury that he didn’t have with his Grandpa. Soon, he would just be gone.

Yugi could feel his heart rate begin to climb. He was going to need to sit down if he was going to get riled up like that.

He was only 17, he didn’t want to think about running the Game Shop on his own. That was something too adult for him yet, something someone in their 30s or 40s (seemingly ancient, by his standards) would be doing, not a teenager like him.

The thought of young CEOs he went to school with passed by his mind but were quickly pushed out. This wasn’t about Duke or Seto, this was about HIM. And he wasn’t ready for something like that.

He wasn’t ready to lose his Grandpa.

He slumped over on a stool. In his hand, he held one of Ryou’s figurine’s. It was made special for him, the Silent Magician. She held her staff at ready, a tiny serious face frozen in time. He felt the sharp points prickle his hand. It helped him focus.

Of course he wasn’t ready. Was anyone ever ready to lose someone?

Most of his friends had already lost family members, from grandparents to parents. Even siblings. He smiled ruefully to himself. It wasn’t like he lived in a ‘normal’ household himself. But that was different. He didn’t know his dad. That man was just a pleasant stranger, a shadow locked in old photos and in the memories of his mom. His Grandpa was different.

He had always been there, from Yugi’s shy early days to when he learned to come out of his shell. He boasted about his grandson, a world champion, and helped (and forgave) his friends so that Yugi’s inner circle could grow and blossom together.

His Grandpa was his everything. He wasn’t ready to let go just because the older man’s hands were getting unsteady, and his was a little slower than before.

His growing body just made him more aware of how much smaller his Grandpa was, how much frailer.

His hands tightened, quickly releasing after the figurine dug into his palms painfully. A little bit revenge from being manhandled. He got up, putting her back where she belonged. While she had hurt his hand, it was a good reminder to not let himself get stuck into a mental rut.

Older or not, his Grandpa was still healthy enough. He and his mom would be back from the doctor soon, and Yugi would get an earful if they came back to see him slacking on the job.

Perking up, Yugi went back to work. There were still boxes to unpack, posters to put up, and decks to be reorganized. There were dark times ahead in the future, but the only way to deal with them was to make the present as joyful as possible.

Yugi smiled again, this time with more genuine happiness.

He just had to make the time with his loved ones count.

* * *

Here is some fantastic artwork from [Toadstool32](https://toadstool32.tumblr.com/) over on tumblr! Thank you for being such an awesome partner, you're the best!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Miss you, Grandma.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's snowing, Seto.

Sitting in his office early in the evening, Seto could hear footsteps outside of his door. Familiar ones.

“Seto!” He hears his brother’s voice before he opens the door, bounding into the room with the same high energy that he always had. “Hurry up, it’s time to go.”

“In a minute.” Seto said automatically, as if he hadn’t been stuck reading the same report over and over. Mokuba didn’t seem impressed by his reply. “You’ll say that even after an hour, come on, I want to go home.”

His little brother made his way over to his desk, still breathing hard, as if he had run around looking for him. He didn’t see why he would have to, Seto was usually in the same place.

“Tell the driver to take you home, I’ll be right behind you.”

“Likely story.’ There was a melodramatic teenaged eye roll from Mokuba, who was standing behind his chair, looking over his shoulder.

In the past, Mokuba would barely come up to his shoulders while he was sitting. Now, Mokuba loomed over him, holding on to the back of his chair as he peered at the screen. He swiveled the chair around a bit, moving Seto around in a way that he wouldn’t have been able to a few years prior.

Not for the first time, Seto was not appreciative of how much Mokuba had grown. He would be his height soon. The thought did not sit well with him.

“Come on!” Mokuba gleefully manhandled his chair, turning him away from his work. Seto frowned. “I could finish faster if you would just wait-”

“If I wait any longer, it’ll already be spring. I can’t have you wasting away in the office when you’re supposed to be home, with ME. And did you even look outside?” Again Seto’s chair was manhandled, facing him towards the window. “It’s probably the last snowfall of the season and you’re going to miss it because you’re being lame.”

Seto did not do something so undignified as huff. It was beneath him, but a small sigh might have escaped his lips. He was already resigning himself to having to work from his home office if only to get his brother off of his back.

“If I could just clean up a bit-”

“I’ll help!” Mokuba shuffled some of the loose papers on the desk together. One would think that the Kaiba Corp Vice President would be more careful when dealing with paperwork, but that wasn’t Mokuba’s strength anyways. His strengths were public appearances, dealing with people, and manhandling his brother out of his office. As he grew taller and stronger, that last part become easier and easier for him.

Just when did his baby brother grow so much muscle?

While Seto was briefly lost in that thought, Mokuba made short work of his papers, stuffing them into his briefcase along with his phone and other essentials. Defeated, Seto carefully shut down his computer. He had several at home as it was, it would be one less thing to carry.

“If we hurry we can miss some of the traffic. Or better yet, if you’re tired, I can drive-”

“You aren’t driving anything in this weather. Why do we have a driver anyways if you won’t let them do their job?”

Seto was soon being pulled out of his chair. It seemed like Mokuba’s energy was as boundless as his spirit. “I’ll have my license soon enough anyways, I need all of the practice that I can get. Don’t you trust me to drive?” Mokuba added a little wink to the end, as if that was supposed to reassure his brother to the quality of his driving.

He was hanging out with Yugi’s geek squad too often.

“I trust you plenty. I would just prefer that you do your winter driving after you’ve had more experience. Besides, I could drive as well.”

“But you’re tired~” Mokuba pressed. “You’ve been working all day, and I know you probably haven’t eaten in hours, and hey are you losing weight?” Without any further ado, Mokuba put down the briefcase, grabbing at Seto’s waist with is hands, letting his fingers squeeze around it. “Wow, you have! So small! Let’s go eat before you have to wear my old suits.”

Seto batted his hands away, annoyed at the personal invasion. “Are we leaving or are you going to stand around and insult me some more?”

Mokuba just grinned, picking the suitcase back up. “So sensitive, big bro. You must be really hungry, let’s go!” And with that, the Kaiba brothers were off.

Making their way to their car, Seto realized that it was a little later than he had originally thought. The air was crisp even inside of the garage. Without Mokuba, he probably would have ended up at the office all night. As he had gotten older, Mokuba had become far less tolerant for such actions.

To think, that his baby brother was no only getting into the habit of nagging him, but was getting strong enough to actually push him around to get the job done.

As they got into the back of the car, driver ready and waiting for instructions, Seto wondered that if instead of getting better at playing card games, Yugi was letting Wheeler and his buddy train Mokuba, lifting weights or something equally mundane. If it was some kind of slow-burn revenge against him. He smirked at the thought.

“Whatcha thinking about?” Mokuba mused, practically bouncing in is seat from excess energy.

“Not much.” Seto replied, already checking his phone for any emails. Mokuba huffed playfully, feigning offense. He settled back in his seat, his face glued to the window ready to watch the snow, and then they were off.

Seto scrolled through his emails, but his thoughts remained on his brother.

Mokuba might be his little brother in age, but he was already beginning to match him. What Mokuba lacked still in height, he made up for in strength, something that irked a bit. He had been so used to towering over Mokuba, able to lift him with ease. He must have gotten complacent somewhere along the way.

It wasn’t the worst feeling. It wasn’t like letting his deck remain stale and getting beaten by Yugi, let alone the deadbeat. It was just that, even if it was only in his mind-

He wasn’t ready to let go of his baby brother yet.

The word felt foreign on his lips. ‘Baby’ Mokuba was a teenager, and far more mature and capable than most of his peers, but in Seto’s heart he would always be that little boy that he had to teach, that he had to protect.

He wasn’t ready for that to change so drastically. For Mokuba to be the one taking care of him.

Mokuba had been for years, but it was one thing to be chided by his brother for not eating regularly or for avoiding the geek squad outside of tournaments. It was another thing to have his brother be able to push him around, or go behind his back to schedule, of all things, ‘play dates’ with Yugi disguised as meetings.

He went from being cute (oh, Mokuba had HATED that word) and little and in need of being taken care of, to being the one trying to take care of him. And succeeding, more or less. It wasn’t something that he was entirely comfortable with, but never let it be said that Seto Kaiba was defeated by anything. Times changed, people changed.

His brother changed too.

Mokuba was growing older and more capable, and far be it for him to clip his wings just so he could stay up on his unreachable tower. He knew that in a few more years, Mokuba would probably spread his wings, flying to wherever his next adventure awaited. Away from him, quite likely. He could tolerate more playful ribbing if it meant that they would be together, just a while shorter.

“Is it that bad?” Mokuba asked. Seto looked up, a little startled. “You were making faces at your phone.” Mokuba shrugged, like it didn’t bother him that he brother might be annoyed with him. “Did you get bad news or something?”

His expression fell. “Do you have to go back to the office?”

Seto looked at him, taking in his disappointed look. He looked more like a kid again. He reached out, rubbing the top of Mokuba’s curly hair. It was his brother’s turn to bat his hand away in protest. “Hey, what’s with that?”

“Nothing.” Seto said calmly, wanting to reassure him. “We’ll be home soon enough, don’t worry.”

“I only worry about you.” Mokuba joked, though Seto knew the sentiment behind it was serious.

“ _ **I know.”**_ Seto said, his arrogant tone betrayed by a twitch of his lips. Mokuba laughed, playfully pushing him as Seto pretended to be above tickling him back.

‘ _And I you.’_ He added, though kept that thought to himself. They would be home soon enough.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Seto's reign as the tallest of the gang is marred by his baby brother out-muscling him. My own baby brother betrayed me in a similar way, it's so sad.


	7. Together

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> One more time.

The party was in full swing by the time Yugi heard the doorbell ring. It could barely be heard over the laughter of his friends as they watched Téa and Joey in the final rounds of yet another rematch. By a quick glance at their hands, Yugi felt that Téa was about to cinch one more well deserved victory.

She may have never had any aspirations to go on the professional circuit, but she always worked hard to improve her own skills. Though, Yugi couldn’t help but notice, that sometimes she would have a few cards that hadn’t even made it into the shops yet, let alone into tournament play.

And if those cards always seemed to be perfectly aimed at undermining Joey’s then-current deck build, _well_ ….

Perhaps some mysteries were best left on their own.

Speaking of mysterious strangers, he still had to answer the door. Yugi had to snake his way through his room, trying not to knock over anyone’s cup or plate. The snacks were already out in full force, and he knew that clean-up would be terrible. Still, hearing the laughter of his friends behind him made it all worth the while.

Besides, they would be graduating soon. They wouldn't have many more carefree times together.

Finally, after almost tripping down the stairs in his haste, he made it to the front door, opening it without checking. He already knew who it was.

“Hey Yugi!” Mokuba beamed at him, not even hesitating to push his way in. The giant, crinkly bundle under his arms was probably even more snacks, like the boy needed any extra food. He was already bigger than him, and someday he was going to rival his older brother in the height department.

Yugi could hear Mokuba’s footsteps running up the stairs, followed by some playful yelling as he greeted the others. He looked back to Seto, who was still standing outside. It seemed that he was still reconsidering coming in. Yugi could help him with that.

“It’s good to see you, Seto. Everyone is upstairs.”

“Yugi.” Seto said firmly, as if it was enough to convey a greeting and a message on its own. Yugi supposed, for him, that it did. He moved aside, ushering the taller boy in. Seto’s own bundle was a prototype game system, something that Kaiba Corp would be putting on the market in a couple of months.

Mokuba had thought that testing it out would be a good excuse to get Seto to come for a visit, even if it was just to gloat over beating Joey in a game. It seemed to have worked, since he was there. And it had been hard work too, getting the taller boy to come over. It was impressive, the amount of excuses he had had not to show up.

‘ _I’m busy.’_ A quick call to Mokuba had insured that his brother’s schedule was wide open, or at least **could** be made so should Mokuba choose it. Not for a full weekend, as Yugi had hoped, but for long enough that Seto could take a break in between checking in at his office.

‘ _It would be inappropriate, having me there.’_ That one had bothered Yugi a bit. Whatever guilt or bad feelings Seto had towards the shop or, more likely, Yugi’s Grandpa, was pointless. They had all been through too much together to let old history drag them down. If anything, it was something Seto would have to get over himself. His Grandpa had told him that he had lived too long to get worked up over a teenager having a fit.

Yugi also knew that his Grandpa’s feelings towards Pegasus were far less cordial, but that was something for another day. For a far, distant day.

‘ _I don’t want to go’._ Which was Kaiba-speak for _‘No one wants me to_ _come_ _.’_ Another pointless worry, not that Seto would ever admit to it. Yugi knew that Joey was desperate to have at least one more chance to dunk on Seto before they prepared to part ways, and it’s not like he hated him. Anymore.

Ryou was fine with Seto, Tristan didn’t really care, and the guy was probably Téa’s supplier anyways. Besides, everyone wouldn’t worry too much about old drama, not when they were supposed to be enjoying themselves and each other with the time that they still had left.

As it was, the taller boy lagged behind him, his steps far slower on the stairs than Yugi’s. Still, it was progress.

“Look who finally decided to show up, come here!” Joey had the package out of Seto’s hands as soon as he stepped into the room. For a brief moment, there was an almost stunned look on Seto’s face, his hands briefly holding onto an empty space before he brought them down self consciously.

Soon enough, Joey and Tristan were arguing on how best to set it up, as Ryou and Téa looked on with feigned disinterest. As disinterested as they could be, secretly stuffing their faces with the bag of spicy chips that Joey had been trying in vain to save for himself.

Mokuba, too, was busy stuffing his own face, not willing to waste any time arguing with the other boys even though he knew perfectly well how to set it up. It was like he wanted to hurry up and grow even more, and the key to that would be inhaling as many calories as possible. Chewing seemed to be optional.

Yugi moved over to look at some of the demo games that Seto had brought as the CEO looked on at the two bickering boys, both claiming to be the expert at video games and installing said video games. Personally, Yugi thought that repairing cars and motorcycles called for a different skill set than electronics, but who was he to judge?

It was fifteen minutes and nearly time to start ordering pizzas before Mokuba starved that the two, frustrated and swearing at the tangled HDMI cable that didn’t seem to obey them, gave up. Seto stepped in, quickly and quietly setting up the device to the cheers of the rest as Joey and Tristan sulked.

Their sulking fit was short-lived, as they got over it quickly enough in order to try and be the first to play. There was a brief argument over who would go first, with impassioned pleas and mild threats flying about, before Téa and Mokuba ended up winning the rights to play via several dramatic rounds of rock paper scissors, much to Joey’s very noisy dismay.

And it was good, Yugi thought, looking over at his friends. They were all lost in that moment of time, too busy enjoying themselves (or pretending that they weren’t) to focus on how there wouldn’t be many more moments like that in the future.

Some of their friends weren’t there, and some they might never see again. Who knew the next time they would all be together? But if there was one thing that the future held, it was time. And as long as there was time, there would be more chances for them.

And at that moment, it was good just as it was. Even if only for that night, they were all still but students, just for a little while longer.

A cheer went through his friends, as Mokuba and Téa high-fived each other after a particularly good play. Another round of rock paper scissors was surely on its way, and Yugi had better focus if he wanted to get a chance to play at all.

No, better than good. That night was perfect.

Perfectly imperfect.

Growing up could wait, just a bit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally, this lite angst train is coming to the last stop! Thanks for being along for the ride, and see you next time!


End file.
